The Economic Times
Telecom operators may be betting on 3G in India, but the latest study has indicated that operators will have to redesign their business models to make data services affordable for Indian consumers.
The study has highlighted that issues such as revenue sharing between operator and content developer are one of the main reasons behind premium pricing of data services, and hence their limited success.
The study is part of a report on 3G in emerging markets conducted by an international research and consulting firm, Strategy Analytics. The firm estimated that the total mobile phone subscriber base in India would reach around 800-850 million by 2013, of which around 271 million subscribers will be using 3G services.
The report said only limited number of services like ringtones have tasted success due to high price of mobile value-added service (VAS). The current data average revenue per user (ARPU) of operators in India is around $0.7 per month. “Though the rollout of 3G will definitely benefit the data services portfolio of operators, it does not guarantee its success,” said Strategy Analytics head (global wireless practice) David A Kerr. There is virtually no demand for data services in the rural belt due to high tariffs and low user spend. “3G services will gain acceptance in rural areas only when localised content can be offered at a very nominal price,” the study notes.
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